Happy 2009!

Wow, where do you start when you haven't posted in over three weeks? Well, I guess I can start with Brad's tonsillectomy and the reparation of his deviated septum. He did pretty well, considering that his entire nasal cavity was probed, prodded, sliced and stitched. The doctor that performed the surgeries is a friend of Brad's that he met while playing basketball at the Jewish Community Center here in town. The fact that the doctor knew Brad personally was a comfort for me, and he spent a little extra time talking to us before and after the surgery. It took about an hour and a little change to complete both procedures. The amount of time was disconcerting to me because I was told that it would be a 45 min. deal, tops. When the doctor came out to talk to me he said that Brad's tonsils were some of the largest that he had ever seen and that his septum was in one of the worst conditions he had ever seen. He told me that it was a challenge to rebuild the cartilage in between the nostrils so that the tip of Brad's nose would not dip onto his upper lip.

Post surgery was pretty tough on Brad the first day after the pain meds wore off. My dad and Jackie kept Connor for us at their house so that I would only have to take care of two boys, instead of three at one time. I was worried about Tucker seeing Brad with his nose bloody and bruised, but Tucker was not phased. He and Jake both saw Brad that first day and neither of them were scared by his appearance, in fact, they thought that he looked pretty cool. Of course they would. Anyway, once the Hydro Codene wore off, he was in pain. I believe the nose hurt him worse than the throat at first, then vice versa. The coolest, and most gruesome act of the entire saga occurred when I took Brad to have the stints taken out of his nose the following Friday after his surgery. When the doctor told us he was inserting stints into the nostrils to hold up the new cartilage, both Brad and I pictured those little pieces of cardboard that you hold in your mouth while you get an x-ray at the dentist. So, to watch the doctor pull a 4 inch long, two inch wide piece of thin plastic out of my husbands nostrils, on both sides, was surprising to say the least. One might think that a non medical person as myself might be grossed out by this. Quite the contrary, all I could say was, "Cool! Did you see what he just pulled out of your nose?" Yes, I am not a very empathetic wife. I was not thinking of the fact that Brad was only slightly numbed when these apparatus were pulled from his skull. He nodded yes, and then the other 'stint' was pulled out. He looked at them for second before we walked out of the room and almost threw up on the spot. I still thought they were pretty awesome. The doctor said that people have no idea how large the nostril cavity actually is, and he is right.

On to Christmas. Very busy, very hectic, but enjoyable. Thanks to some awesome friends and new customers to my business, I was able to paint enough lap trays and picture frames to pay for both Tucker and Connor's Christmas gifts! It took me about three weeks to get them all done, but I was happy with the results and I certainly hope my customers were as well. The Lord was there for us again, because had it not been for those orders, I don't know what we were going to do. It is so true that He will always provide, no matter what. Not that my kids needed toys for Christmas, but He still found a way to make sure that we had groceries in our pantry and food on our table instead of us spending it on the toys. God is good. So good.

Brad's parents actually spent the night with us on Christmas Eve, and Tucker loved having them and Uncle Bryan here to see all of his and Connor's gifts. Connor got a really cute toddler bus that he can sit in and ride through the house or in the yard. It is adorable to see him riding in it, and he is becoming a better driver every day. I am just glad that I know how to fix the new notches in the walls that he is making. Tucker got every Star Wars toy known to man between Santa, and his Grandparents. I swear, that child is going to be speaking backward like Yoda soon. Brad received enough gift cards to Dick's Sporting goods to buy me two new Life Is Good T-shirts to go with my new running shoes that my mom gave me. He is planning on purchasing a mountain bike with the rest. lucky dog. I also got two gift cards to book stores, one of which I have already depleted, but am looking forward to reading all of my new books!!!! I am currently reading The Black Tower, and it is very good so far. There is a lot of French terminology in the text but I am slowly getting through it. :) Should have listened more to that French teacher I had in high school. Hindsight, you know what they say. Great, now I sound like Yoda. I had better stop writing for now. The bed is calling, as well as my book and I need to finish a chapter.